Crestline Management LP Purchases Shares of 17,400 Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Crestline Management LP purchased a new stake in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 17,400 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,062,000.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial during the 4th quarter worth $115,878,000. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 23.7% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,686,690 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $555,513,000 after purchasing an additional 897,916 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $76,303,000. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its holdings in Prudential Financial by 322.9% in the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 711,102 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $84,287,000 after buying an additional 542,964 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi raised its holdings in Prudential Financial by 32.7% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 1,535,514 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $181,851,000 after acquiring an additional 378,266 shares during the period. 56.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on PRU. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Prudential Financial from $128.00 to $126.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $120.00 to $117.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $136.00 to $128.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 28th. Barclays dropped their price objective on Prudential Financial from $134.00 to $106.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Prudential Financial from $108.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $121.92.

Insider Activity

In related news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential purchased 52,595 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 25th. The shares were bought at an average price of $28.52 per share, for a total transaction of $1,500,009.40. Following the purchase, the insider now directly owns 139,987 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,992,429.24. This represents a 60.18 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Andrew F. Sullivan sold 6,000 shares of Prudential Financial stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.98, for a total value of $635,880.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 27,072 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,869,090.56. The trade was a 18.14 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Prudential Financial Stock Performance

NYSE:PRU opened at $101.18 on Thursday. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 1-year low of $90.38 and a 1-year high of $130.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16. The business has a 50 day moving average of $105.20 and a 200 day moving average of $114.98. The company has a market capitalization of $35.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.54, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.07.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $3.29 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.18 by $0.11. Prudential Financial had a net margin of 4.01% and a return on equity of 15.86%. The company had revenue of $13.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.76 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.12 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 38.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 20th will be given a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.34%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 20th. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 85.58%.

Prudential Financial Profile

Prudential Financial, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides insurance, investment management, and other financial products and services in the United States and internationally. It operates through PGIM, Retirement Strategies, Group Insurance, Individual Life, and International Businesses segments.